The 89-year-old 蜜柚直播 Inn is closed for the first time since 1971 鈥 with a tentative reopening date of May 1 鈥 in 鈥渁 wrenching thing to have to do,鈥 says its president Will Conroy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just me and mom. There鈥檚 no corporate headquarters. It鈥檚 just us,鈥 Conroy explained Tuesday of the decision to shutter the iconic midtown inn his great-grandmother Isabella Greenway opened.
鈥淭he first thing in my mind is the safety of our staff,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to ask them to do something we wouldn鈥檛 want to do鈥 鈥 and that means to face the uncertainty of possible exposure at work during the COVID-19 outbreak.
鈥淲e鈥檙e keeping on as many as we can, including as many hourly employees as we can, but a lot are on hiatus.鈥
The inn used to close during the summers in its days of swamp coolers, before it had air conditioning, but he said the last time was the summer of 鈥71.
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鈥淔or almost 50 years we鈥檝e been open every night, so it鈥檚 a bit dramatic for us,鈥 Conroy noted.
The 蜜柚直播 Inn has many repeat and long-term guests 鈥渁nd they know us鈥 and are supportive, he said.
鈥淧eople haven鈥檛 been shocked. They鈥檝e seen what鈥檚 going on. We鈥檇 had lots of (recent) cancellations鈥 due to the virus outbreak, 鈥渁nd some people are thanking us for making the decision.鈥
It is poignant, Conroy said, walking around the inn and seeing it empty after the closure started Monday, March 16.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so beautiful, and it鈥檚 a perfect time of year for the flowers.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 seem right.鈥
